Cellulosic fabrics rendered crease resistant and water repellant through treatment with compositions comprising catalyst-water repellant silicones and sulfone crosslinking agents



United States Patent 3,338,661 CELLULOSIC FABRICS RENDEREI) GREASE RE- SISTANT AND WATER REPELLANT THROUGH TREATMENT WITH COMPOSITIONS COMPRIS- ING CATALYST-WATER REPELLANT SILICONES AND SULFONE CROSSLINKING AGENTS John W. Gilkey, Midland, Mich., assignor to Dow Corning Corporation, Midland, Mich., a corporation of Michigan No Drawing. Filed Oct. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 407,210

- 12 Claims. (Cl. 8--115.6)

This invention relates to a method of producing a fabric which is both crease resistant and water repellent.

The use of various organic resins to make cellulosic fabrics crease resistant has been well established. In general, these resins are of the ultra-aldehyde or melaminealdehyde type. Whereas these resins give excellent crease resistance they suffer from the disadvantage that the fabricts so treated lose strength on exposure to bleaching powder and subsequent heating. Recently, various sulfones hereinafter described have been advocated for this use. These sulfones have the advantage that they are stable to alkaline bleach. However, it has not heretofore been commercially feasible to simultaneously treat fabrics with these sulfones and with silicone water repellents. Applicant has found unexpectedly that such simultaneous treatment can be obtained by employing the combination set forth below.

It is an object of this invention to produce a novel method of treating cellulosic fabrics which will render them both crease resistant and water repellent. Other advantages will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

This invention relates to a method comprising contacting a cellulosic fabric with an aqueous dispersion of a mixture of 1) A sulfone selected from the group consisting of divinyl sulfone, CH =CHSO CH CH Z,

in which:

Z is of the group consisting of -SSO M, -OSO M, quaternary ammonium salt residues attached to the CH CH group through carbon-nitrogen bonds, and OR groups in which M is an anion,

'R' is of the group hydrogen, lower aliphatic hydro- .car-bon radicals and acyl radicals derived frpm lower aliphatic carboxylic acids,

R is a divalent hydrocarbon radical, any valence of the N of the NR N group not satisfied by R groups and the CH CH group being satisfied by monovalent hydrocarbon radicals,

n is an integer from 1 to 2 inclusive and X is of the group divalent hydrocarbon radicals and divalent radicals attached to the S by a CS linkage, and being composed of C, H and O atoms in the form of ether linkages and (2) Alkali metal salt of an aliphatic hydrocarbon siliconate having an average of .9 to 1.3 hydrocarbon radicals per silicon atom, said hydrocarbon radicals having from 1 to 4 inclusive carbon atoms, in amount such that the weight pickup of (1) and (2) on the fabric is at least 1% by weight and .5% by weight respectively andthereafter heating the treated fabric to a degree sufficient to give a crease resistant and water repellent fabric.

In carrying out the process of this invention the cellulosic fabric such as cotton, rayon, acetate, linen, or the like or blends of cellulosic fibers with other fibers such as cotton and polyester, is contacted in any desired manner with an aqueous dispersion of (1) and (2). Thus, the fabric can be dipped, sprayed or padded with the dispersion. After the fabric has been saturated with the dispersion, it is then dried and heated to such an extent that the sulfone reacts with the cellulose to crosslink it imparting the crease resistant property. At the same time the siliconate makes the fabric water repellent. In general, it is satisfactory to heat the fabric at temperatures ranging from to 400 F. or higher depending upon the sulfone employed, although temperatures above or below this range are often operative.

In order for the sulfone to operate it is essential that the treating medium be alkaline. When the siliconate is employed in amount of at least 1% by weight of the treating solution, it alone will furnish sufficient alkalinity to cause the sulfone to react with the cellulose. However, when the siliconate is employed in an amount less than 1%, it is often desirable to add additional alkali to the solution in the form of materials such as sodium hydroxide or potassium carbonate in order to obtain the desired degree of alkalinity. If desired, additional alkali can be employed in any event.

For a more detailed description of the alkaline conditions needed for reacting the sulfones with the cellulose, reference may be had to the publications of G. C. Tesoro et al. in the Textile Research Journal, volume 31, 283 (1961), volume 32, 18 (1962), and volume 33, 93 (1963). These publications also set forth a wide variety of sulfones which can be employed in this invention.

The sulfones which are operative in this invention are divinylsulfone and sulfones of the formula in which Z can be thiosul-fate salt groups of the formula $50 M, in which M can be any anion such as sodium, potassium, ammonium, cesium, or other metals. Prefera- 'bly the anion is one which will render the sulfone water soluble or at least water dispersible. Z can also be the sulfate group OSO M where M is any anion as shown above. Z can also be any quaternary amonium salt residue such as those derived from pyridine hydrochloride, quinoline hydrochloride, trimethylamine, ethyldimethylamine, benzyldimethylamine, allyldiethylamine, or any other tertiary amine. Finally, Z can be a hydroxyl, a lower alkoxy group such as methoxy, ethoxy, butoxy, or 2-ethylhexoxy or an unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbonoxy group such as allyloxy or hexenyloxy or Z can be an acyl group derived from any lower aliphatic carboxylic acid. Examples of such groups are formyl, acetyl, propionyl, acrylyl or methacrylyl.

In addition to the above monosulfones, (1) can also be disulfones of the formula where Z is above defined and X is any divalent hydrocarbon radical such as methylene, dimethylene, tetramethylene, hexamethylene, octamethylene, or CH CH CHCH CH CH CH=CHCH CH phenylene, cyclohexylene, methylcyclohexylene, tolylene, or biphenylene. X can also be a hydrocarbon ether radical such as CH3 C2115 CHzCHzOCHzCHz, CHOHgOCHzCHz,CHCH2OCHzCHz and CH CH OCH CH CH CH (1) Can also be a disulfone of the formula CH =CHSO CH CH NR NCH CH SO CH CHQ in which R is a divalent hydrocarbon radical. The NR N grouping is derived from a bis-secondary amine and can be of two types. When n is 1, the group has the formula in which R is a divalent hydrocarbon radical, and R" is a monovalent hydrocarbon radical. These groups, of course, are derived from linear bis-secondary amines. The second type of NR N group arises when n is 2. In this case, the group is of a cyclic structure and there are two monovalent hydrocarbon radicals between the nitrogens, the latter, of course, being a part of the cyclic structure. These groups are derived from bis-secondary cyclic amines such as in which x is an integer. Specific examples of such amines are those in which x is 2, 3 and 5.

Ingredient (2) can be any alkali metal salt of an aliphatic hydrocarbon siliconate in which the hydrocarbon groups are from 1 to 4 carbon atoms. This would include siliconates such as methyl siliconate, ethyl siliconate, vinyl siliconate, allyl siliconate, propyl siliconate, isopropyl siliconate, and butyl siliconate. If desired, the siliconates can contain some unsubstituted silicon atoms and some di-substituted silicon atoms such as dimethylsiliconate, ethylmethylsiliconate, methylvinyl siliconate, etc. Also some of the silicon atoms in the siliconate structure can be linked through alkylene bridges in which the bridges are methylene, ethylene, trimethylene, or butylene. The above alkali metal siliconates are well-known materials and are available commercially.

For the purpose of this invention there should be an average of from .9 to 1.3 total hydrocarbon radicals per silicon in the siliconate. The alkali metal can be any alkali metal such as lithium, sodium, potassium or cesium and the alkali metal can be present in ratios from 1 to 3 alkali metal atoms per silicon. The solubility of the alkali metal siliconate varies with the alkali metal and with the size and number of hydrocarbon groups attached to the silicon. In general, the lithium salts are the least soluble and the cesium salts are most soluble of the alkali metal siliconates. Thus, in those salts where the hydrocarbon group totals 4 carbon atoms, it is preferabl to use the potassium or cesium salts rather than the sodium or lithium salts.

For the purpose of this invention the amount of (1) and (2) employed should be such that the fabric will pickup at least 1% by weight of (1) and at least /2% by weight of (2). The upper limit of these ingredients is not critical although for cost reasons it is preferable that the fabric contain no more than 5% by weight silicone. In general, (1) should be employed in amount of from 1 to by weight although more can be employed if desired.

Fabrics treated in accordance with this invention are both crease resistant and water repellent and they retain these properties after repeated washings. Consequently, the fabrics so treated are useful in a wide variety of applications.

The following examples are illustrative only and should not be construed as limiting the invention which is properly delineated in the appended claims.

The crease recovery of the fabrics in the following examples was determined in accordance with AATCC Method 66-1959T and the spray rating was determined in accordance with AATCC Method 22-1964.

Example 1 A solution of 9.37 g. of bis-beta-hydroxyethyl sultone and 1.87 g. of sodium methyl siliconate diluted to 100 g. in distilled water was prepared. Samples of 80 x 80 cotton cloth were padded with this solution, air dried and cured 1 /2 minutes at 350 F. The cured samples were bleached with hydrogen peroxide (2%) in a .5%

d by weight Tide solution. The bleached fabric was rinsed with warm water and air :dried. The spray rating was determined and the crease recovery angles measured after overnight conditioning in a constant temperature room at 72 F. and 50% relative humidity. The crease recovery angle is the sum of the average of three measurements in the warp and three measurements in the fill directions of the fabric. For comparison a run was made in which no alkaline material was added to the bath and one was made in which sodium carbonate was used in place of the siliconate.

The procedure of Example 1 was repeated employing 8% bis-beta-hydroxyethyl sulfone and varying concentrations of sodium methyl siliconate and sodium propyl siliconate as shown below.

Percent Crease Spray Pickup Recovery, Rating on Fabric deg.

Sodium methyl siliconate 1 226 70 2 267 Sodium propyl siliconate 1 239 70 2 258 80 Example 3 Washes Crease Recovery, Spray Rating Initial 243 so 1 234 70 255 70 243 70 Example 4 A solution was made by dissolving 9.37 g. of bis-betahydroxyethyl sulfone and 1.87 g. of potassium butyl siliconate in g. of distilled water containing some ethanol. 80 x 80 cotton cloth was padded in accordance with the procedure of Example 1. The fabric was then laundered under the conditions of Example 3. The results are as follows:

Washes Crease Recovery, Spray Rating Initial 253 80 1 250 70 287 50 Example 5 Equivalent results are obtained when sodium vinyl siliconate and a siliconate composed of a mixture of sodium ethyl siliconate and one of the structure CH (NaO)3S iCH2OH2Si(ONn)3 are employed in the procedure of Example 1.

Example 6 CHzC z CHz=CHSOzCHzCHzOH 011 0115 OzCHzCHzN CHZ=CHS OzOHzCHzO CH NSOaSSCHzCHzSOzCHgCHzO CH3 NaO SO OH2CHzSO2CHzOHzO CH N onloms OgHzCHgOHzOH N: CHzCHnSOzCHzCHzOCHz That which is claimed is: 1. The method comprising contacting a cellulosic fabric with an aqueous dispersion of a mixture of 1) a sulfone selected from the group consisting of divinyl sulfone, CH CHSO CH CH Z,

ZCH CH SO CH CH Z ZCH CH SO XSO CH CH Z and in which Z is selected from the group consisting of -SSO M, OSO M, quarternary ammonium salt residues attached to the CHgCHz group through a carbon-nitrogen bond and OR groups, in which M is an anion,

R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, lower aliphatic hydrocarbon radicals and acyl radicals derived from lower aliphatic carboxylic acids,

R is a divalent hydrocarbon radical, any valence of the nitrogen of the group NR N not satisfied by R groups and the CH CH group being satisfied by monovalent hydrocarbon radicals,

n is an integer from 1 to 2 inclusive, and

X is selected from the group consisting of divalent hydrocarbon radicals and divalent radicals attached to the S by a CS linkage and being composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the form of ether linkages and (2) an alkali metal salt of an aliphatic hydrocarbon siliconate having an average of from .9 to 1.3 hydrocarbon radicals per silicon, said hydrocarbon radicals having from 1 to 4 inclusive carbon atoms in amount such that the weight pickup of (1) and (2) on the fabric is at least 1% by weight and .5 by weight respectively and thereafter heating the treated fabric to a degree sufiicient to give a crease resistant and water repellent fabric.

2. The process in accordance with claim 1 in which the sulfone is bis-beta-hydroxyethyl sulfone.

3. The method in accordance with claim 1 in which (1) is bis-beta-hydroxyethyl sulfone and (2) is sodium methyl siliconate.

4. The method in accordance with claim 1 in which (1) is bis-beta-hydroxyethyl sulfone and (2) is sodium propyl siliconate.

5. As a composition of matter an aqueous dispersion containing at least 1% by weight based on the weight of the dispersion of composition (1) of claim 1 and at least .5 by weight based on the weight of the dispersion of composition (2) of claim 1.

6. The composition in accordance with claim 5 in which (1) is bis-beta-hydroxyethyl sulfone.

7. The composition in accordance with claim 5 in which (1) is bis-beta-hydroxyethyl sulfone and (2) is sodium methyl siliconate.

8. The composition in accordance with claim 5 in which (1) is his beta-hydroxyethyl sulfone and (2) is sodium propyl siliconate.

9. A fabric treated in accordance with claim 1.

10. A fabric treated in accordance with claim 2.

11. A fabric treated in accordance with claim 3. 12. A fabric treated in accordance with claim 4.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,000,762 9/1961 Tesoro 8-120 X 3,031,435 4/1962 Tesoro 8-120 X 3,178,250 4/1965 Ellis et al. 3,194,627 7/1965 Gagarine 8120 X 3,218,118 11/1965 Steele et al 8120 X 3,222,119 12/1965 Tashlick et al 8-120 X NORMAN G. TORCHIN, Primary Examiner. J. CANNON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. THE METHOD COMPRISING CONTACTING A CELLULOSIC FABRIC WITH AN AQUEOUS DISPERSION OF A MIXTURE OF (1) A SULFONE SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF DIVINYL SULFONE, CH2=CHSO2CH2CH2Z,
 5. AS A COMPOSITION OF MATTER AN AQUEOUS DISPERSION CONTAINING AT LEAST 1% BY WEIGHT BASED ON THE WEIGHT OF THE DISPERSION OF COMPOSITION (1) OF CLAIM 1 AND AT LEAST .5% BY WEIGHT BASED ON THE WEIGHT OF THE DISPERSION OF COMPOSITION (2) OF CLAIM
 1. 